On the Road to The Original Brazil

After a couple days' preparation in Sao Paulo for the Round of 16 match with Belgium, the US Soccer Media Program picked up again, this time to travel to Salvador, home of Arena Fonte Nova, site of the July 1st match. Arriving  early afternoon, we were too late to attend the US training session, held away from the stadium, due to FIFA's concerns about preservation of the playing surface.

Traveling directly from the Salvador airport, after the two-hour flight, to Fonte Nova, we were in time for the press conference, and for my purposes, it was the chance for a quick five-minute photo op of Jurgen Klinsmann and captain Clint Dempsey, then, as usual, all the photographers are asked to leave so the 'real' journalists can have their time for questions. After a few minutes work on the wireless network in the SMC, I chose to ride the FIFA shuttle to the hotel, and beat the check-in rush.

Our accommodations in Salvador came with strong reviews, but the reality is the property fell well short of those expectations. Well located on bayside Salvadoran peninsula, the Sol Victoria Marina, has a lovely bar/cafe, overlooking the bay.

The ambience ends once you get pick up your key, a real metal key, only one to a room, then get in the elevator and head to your room. All the lights on the floor are off, and the hall dark, until your movement trips the motion sensors. Naturally, in a city of 3.5  millions, but only four FIFA hotels, the properties use the opportunity as their own little gold rush. For one night's stay, a double, was $700, with Nick Firchau from MLSSoccer.com, and I splitting the cost. Remember, we are 'double booked' paying for our rooms back at our Sao Paulo base hotel as well.

Admittedly, we did have a 'water view', look very closely and you can see where the bay and Atlantic ocean meet between the buildings. No, seriously, click on the picture and make it bigger the water's there, I swear.

We watched the end of the Germany-Algeria match at the hotel, then headed out to Old Town, for a local eating establishment, 'MamaBahia'. This region was the first area of Brazil settled by the Portuguese, due in large part to the largest natural bay in South America. Until the mid-20th century, the city, as well as the state, were called Bahia, and this remains the largest area of African culture in Brazil.

Some of the buildings date back to the 17th century, many being made with marble and limestone brought from Portugal as ballast in their sailing ships. Much of Old Town was festively dressed, as July 2nd is their Independence Day, when the colony separated from Portugal. Every year, a procession follows the path of the colonists, who expelled the Portuguese from the area in 1823.

On this night, the procession had a German flair as this small procession of celebrating fans made their way past our table, and down the winding streets of Old Town. Oh, I have I not mentioned, the tables for 'MamaBahia' are literally in the street, and the menu features some local flavor, which being on the coast, of course means a variety of seafood, with a local culinary flair.

Not being squeamish, I opted for the local stew of shrimp and octopus, with the stew served over rice. Believe me, it was delicious, and was washed down with a couple of the famous Brazilian 'caipirinha', which is similar to a mojito, just without the rum, which is substituted with an alcohol made from sugar cane, as is rum, just differently, so I'm told.

Other than the fact US Soccer picked up the tab, unexpectedly, for this Media Program dinner, the other really special part was my sitting across from Dave Barry, who is married to the soccer writer from the Miami Herald. Dave, and their teenage daughter, joined up with their wife/mom in Rio de Janeiro, prior to traveling to Salvador.

For those of you not raised in the 'newspaper generation', Dave is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and humorist, who wrote a nationally-syndicated column, based with the Miami Herald, from 1983 until 2005. He is one of my favorite contemporary columnists, but I avoided being a 'fan boy', and just used the opportunity to have a 'get-acquainted' conversation.

The next morning was Match Day 56, and I was up and out early, on the first FIFA Media Shuttle to the stadium. The stadium, located near Old Town, is in a valley, near the water, and the day broke beautifully, with the chance of showers never materializing. The prettiest day we've had in Brazil, I'm near the beach, but my mission lay elsewhere.

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, All Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.

Home Away from Home

Wanted to briefly step away from soccer to give all a glimpse of the Sao Paulo neighborhood of Higienopolis, where the US Soccer Media Program is based. The crossroads of Higienopolis and Angelica would equate to a Peachtree-Paces Ferry, or Peachtree-Piedmont demographic in Atlanta.

The neighborhood is one of the nicest sections of Sao Paulo, lots of trees and a few small parks. Many, actually most, of the residents live in upscale high-rise apartments and condos, heavily secured, as are most upscale neighborhoods everywhere these days.

One of THE attractions in the area is the Higienopolis Mall, which from the outside, does not really look like what it is on the inside. When walking in, however, almost everyone would be welcomed by this familiar sight.

Moving into the central core of the mall gives one a 'woah' moment. It's a lot more than it appears from the outside.

There is virtually every high-end retailer one can imagine on hand in this mall, but with prices that match the highest end retail in the States, if not even higher. You'll notice the soccer-themed play area on the ground floor. This is a 'child-care, drop off', where shoppers may leave their children for supervised activities, while they take their time shopping.

And there's one sight which made me more than a little homesick. Many people in the Higienopolis area have dogs. The general rule is the larger the dog, the more affluent one is, since your living quarters can house both you and a big dog. They take their dogs everywhere, and saw a number during my brief visit to the mall. This one is the one which made me homesick.

As I sit in the Arena Fonte Nova SMC the morning of the US-Belgium match, Helen sent me this from the beach house at Cape San Blas, also from this morning.

At the moment, am considering us very rich.

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, All Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.

Moving on to Get Ready for the 'Real' Tournament

When arriving back in Sao Paulo following the Germany match, the US team took a little time off, but soon enough made the transition to preparing for their Round of 16 match with Belgium. Returning to their fabulous training ground, the team got in three good sessions, before departing, Sunday, for Salvador.

While at Sao Paulo FC, the training sessions were open, after selected press conference appearances, for visual capture the first 15 minutes of each session. This is a part of that scene.

One of the prime subjects was the jogging and stretching of Jozy Altidore, returning to action after straining his left hamstring 20 minutes into the first Group Stage match.

The rest of the team worked on specific training, related to how they wanted to prepare for Belgium, but of course, most of those tactical sessions were after practice was closed to the media. What the media is allowed to see is pretty much always the same, jogging and stretching.

We were allowed a glimpse of one session, mostly with the reserve players, of shooting drills that involved shot set-up, shooting, moving from one goal to another, thereby also allowing for some work for both reserve goalkeepers simultaneously, with two goals side-by-side and the player moving from the first to the second for a second ball randomly served him.

That's about all for this post, but did find it amusing the team bus has, naturally, sponsor Continental tires, but a closer look shows the tires imprinted with both soccer balls and the Brazil World Cup logo. You'll probably be able to buy these on eBay soon;)

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, All Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.

Coming Down to Last, and "The Match"

Ever since the draw for the 2014 World Cup was made last December, landing the US in the 'Group of Death' with WC nemesis, Ghana, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, and Jurgen Klinsmann's former German side, the speculation and drama rolled rampant.

The MD -1 press conference for US-Germany had both coaches admitting their long-time respect and friendship for each other, but also adamantly reinforcing this was a match both their teams were making every effort to win.

Most of the night before, and the morning of the match, torrential seasonal rains hit Recife, and my choice was to take the very first FIFA shuttle from the hotel, due to both the weather conditions and the early kickoff of 1:00 p.m., local time. The ride to the stadium, 40 minutes the day before, was nearly two hours on match day.

Recife's streets had flooded to the point where three-lane roads in each direction were completely submerged, with police diverting all cars, only allowing truck and bus traffic in the middle "high ground" of the road. Quality of the photo isn't great due to early morning light and driving rain, but you get the idea.

Just getting from the door of the hotel to the bus, I got completely soaked, and my shoes and socks bore the worst of it. My choice of lightweight nylon fishing pants and quick-dry US Soccer shirt (my shirt of choice for all matches here), proved to be good, as they would eventually, hours after the match, dry out.

Despite the continued rain into and throughout the match, the pitch was in pretty good shape, and not really a factor.

The shooting conditions for most of the match, however, were extremely difficult. Most of the time out on the field was spent under the camera 'rain jacket' and poncho, unused from Katie's college graduation in May (thanks!). It was mostly camera protection, as everything else was soaked through and through.

The players said the playing surface during the rain was less a factor than the actual rain making it hrd to see, hitting their eyes on recovery sprints, etc.

This shot of Mesut Ozil on the dribble gives you an idea of how hard the rain came down at times.

Overall, the match was played to the US plan of limiting German possession in and around the box, and taking the match into halftime scoreless, showed that plan was working. Afterwards, though, Jurgen Klinsmann would state "in the beginning we gave the Germans too much respect, allowing them more possession than we would have liked."

It was that continued possession that would finally pay dividends for Germany. In the 55th minute, Tim Howard made an excellent punch of a German shot.

The rebound would go outside the left edge of the box, where a lurking Thomas Mueller, given just a little too much room, and not closed down quickly enough, would bend a brilliant finish inside the far post for a 1-0 German lead.

Despite the possession stats being strongly in the Germans' favor, 63-37, much of that was due to the early 'respect' Klinsmann referred to, as well as some significant passing around the back, with the US playing only Clint Dempsey up top at forward.

German-American Jermaine Jones was a man possessed the entire match, winning head ball after head ball, and challenging and winning loose balls all over the field.

Another tireless worker, midfielder Michael Bradley, sprinted to cover, held to delay, and covered more space than imaginable in the midfield. Through the entire Group Stage, and covering all 32 teams, Bradley covered more ground than any other player, nearly the distance of a complete marathon, much at a very high pace, or out-and-out sprints.

DeMarcus Beasley, the most veteran of the US team, now in his fourth World Cup, also continued his outstanding play on the left flank of the defense. His play was so strong it drew yet another frustration foul, although this obvious infraction, possibly even worthy of a yellow card, by Miroslav Klose was not whistled by the referee.

As the match neared full time, the US built an attack, which nearly snatched a point. A ball served from the left flank was tracked down by Dempsey on the back post, and very likely would have found home, had not enough of a leaning into by defender Mats Hummels kept 'Deuce' from driving all the way through his shot.

Admittedly, the draw would have changed nothing as it turned out. The threat of Ghana was dispatched when Portugal won that simultaneous match, 2-1, a fact the players were made aware of as the final whistle in Recife sounded. With both teams safely into the Round of 16, friendships were renewed and advancement celebrated. The sacrifice and support of the American Outlaws, and all of the US fans has been praised and greatly appreciated by the team, which defied 'Death'.

In the end, I even had a personal moment, finally catching up to my alma mater's Class of 2010, four members of which celebrated their recent college graduations, and two of them their birthdays, in Brazil at this World Cup. We had messaged and tried the previous two matches, but ultimately, just like the US, made it happen in the end. LionPride, and again, as I said four years ago, when two of these four were in South Africa, pride fuels passion.

A date in the Knockout Round with Belgium awaits.
For those who are not aware, the very first World Cup was played in South America in 1930. The second match ever contested was, you guessed it, US-Belgium, with the US winning, 3-0. Since then, the two countries have only played four more times, with Belgium winning all four. We are now, back in South America, and this is a US team that is looking to make their own history. Here. And NOW.

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, All Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.

Dramatic Subplots and Scenarios

When Portugal snatched back two points in the final seconds of their match with the US in Manaus, it removed one of the great possibilities of the Americans entering the final match of Group G play in first place, with Germany needing a win to claim the group.

Instead, the two second-match draws in Group G left all four teams with at least some chance of advancement into the Knockout Stage. With US still in control of the second spot, a tie against Germany guaranteeing advancement, there was some speculation Jurgen Klinsmann's past associations with his homeland, national team, and coach, would steer the match in that direction.

During the Match Day -1 press conference, all on hand, from both teams, assured the media the competitive nature of the athletes and coaches, once the match was underway, would not allow for such an arrangement. The spirit of both sides during the press conference, though, was upbeat, with both Klinsmann, and his former assistant, Joachim Loew, now in control of the German side, relaxed.

The players, too, assured all their efforts were focused on their respective sides winning, with first place in the group the prize. Naturally, as a dual citizen of both countries, who plays in Germany, Fabian Johnson of the US was emphatic of his team's intent.

And US midfielder Kyle Beckerman recalled to all on hand the nature of the US team during World Cup qualification, playing through every match, especially at Panama, when having already qualified, the US fought back late to win, thereby eliminating the host team from a trip to Brazil, and giving Mexico the play-in lifeline, which they have used to full advantage in Brazil.

The only German player presented was Mesut Ozil of Arsenal in the English Premier League. For those of you old enough to have seen the classic comedy, Mel Brooks movie, Young Frankenstein, I quietly chuckled at the resemblance to the character Igor, played by Marty Feldman. It's the eyes (as in 'I-gor'). OK, and for you Arsenal fans, yes, I acknowledge he's a brilliant player, nonetheless.

After the press conference, the US was first on the field, and the strangest of sights for this time of year in Recife, the sun came out. The hopes were, since this was the same time of day as would be the match the next day, maybe, just maybe, we would be so lucky for similar playing conditions.

As it would turn out, nothing could have been further from the truth, but that is for the next post.

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, all Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.

Quick Turnaround. Another Plane Ride

The day after the Holland-Chile match, we were packing up at our Sao Paulo hotel to travel again, this time once again up to the northeast coast, to Recife, for the final Group G match - Germany.

The flight was an evening affair, so the three-hour flight was time for a short nap, and a late, after midnight, arrival at our FIFA hotel, the Mecure Navegantes, one block off the beach. Its designation as a FIFA hotel means it was a FIFA shuttle stop, and that it had the most modern accommodations. Those modern accommodations did not involve the easiest, or most consistent, access to the Internet, and differing from all of our other host hotels, our media program package did not include breakfast.

The next morning, we awoke to not an overcast day, that marks the changing of the seasons here, as they just entered their 'winter', which means rain. Nonetheless, my 16th floor did show me the beach in daylight.

Upon waling out my door, the walkway opening showed the city of Recife, itself.

Recife is the fifth-largest city in Brazil, and has the traffic and lack of infrastructure to make it a traffic nightmare. Much of the developmental density is pushed towards the beach, but many narrow, and even one-way streets make navigation tricky, especially as our group travels on a large coach-style bus.

To travel to Arena Pernambuco, named for the Brazilian state where Recife resides, it is a 40-minute ride with NO traffic. We arrived to find this modern facility, but as we would refer to the locale back home, 'out in the country'.

With that introduction to the third and final of our host cities, I will close this entry, and devote the next to the actual Match Day -1 preparations and press conference.

One final note, however, is there is a popular restaurant down the block from our hotel. A number of our group chose to venture there for dinner. One of the New York writers had his Visa cloned there, and hit up for over $46,000 in charges in less than 48 hours. I know, it could happen anywhere, but Brazil is using the World Cup to pad every pocket possible, in any way possible.

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, all Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.